Sometimes a photo just makes you smile....

Courtesy of Jonathan Scott's Facebook Fan Page

Sometimes you just happen upon a picture that totally makes you smile, and for me this was just one such photo.

I was looking for a picture I had seen of these gentlemen for different post, and stumbled upon this photo, and it just put a HUGE smile on my face. This image just has the right combination of elements to make it so... sort of like a perfect storm of elements.

After living in rainy BC for a couple of years, I became somewhat of a pluviophile. I'm not kidding; I actually love the rain, especially as pictured here. I know a lot of people dislike the rain, for various reasons, but I find a beauty in it. In spring, I love seeing the rain waking the world up from it's winter slumber; and in the fall, it has a sullen beauty, as it rids the world of the remnants of summer, as it prepares to hibernate. But the BEST kind of rain is when it's COMPLETELY sunny!  That is what we have in this picture. So, personally, this image speaks to me....

Even if you can't empathize with my love of rain, there is also the the juxtaposition of a sunny day and a rainy day that is completely harmonious in the image.  I love things that are a little unexpected -- it makes for a great story. Think about it, when you think sunny day, you probably don't think it was raining, and reverse is also true.

I have to admit, though, in the context of this photo, it's not the surprise element that works, but more the harmony. The subjects of this is image are the twins who (from what I can tell from social media) compliment each other very well, just as the rain and the sunshine in the image.

What perfects the image as a whole, is the softness of the image and the photographer's choice of black and white.  Because the image is not pin sharp (at least as it is pictured here), it has ethereal feel. I think this is further highlighted by the fact that the image is in black and white. This image is perfect in black and white. I don't know if the photographer shot it that way or did that in post; I love the choice. I feel that if the image was in colour, it would actually take away from the story.... the image would just not be the same.

So, yes, I know this is probably a publicity shot of some sort, but that doesn't mean it can't have a wonderful story.  What do you think? Does this image not put a smile on your face?

It's not important for the post, but these men are "The Property Brothers". From what I gather, they are total ergophiles (workaholics!), and do some really great work. If you want to know more about them, just do a search for them... they are easy to find!

Day 324 - Colour Splash

Had fun trying to make this look like I had shot with the colour splash function on some cameras. This rose is from one of the gardens in DC on the Mall.

Day 320 - New baby!

Friends recently had a baby.... She's such a little angel!! I was trying to capture a particular picture, and I just couldn't quite capture it.  This one's cute too.  Babies are so amazing.

Day 287 - Comfort

I have lived here, or near here almost all of my life.  As I was staring out this window, I was amazed to see how much this place has changed over the years. Despite the changes, it still feels familiar and comfortable.

Day 214 - Dreaming of Morocco

Although I love the cold weather and the snow, with no one to enjoy it with, I'm thinking of warmer climates!  If you know me, than this is very odd.  I've been staring at this picture I took in Marrakech (Marrakesh), which is one of a sequence, that shows the moon setting and the colours in the sky changing as it did.  Alone, something about this image in colour just didn't feel right.

Day 188 - Relaxing

After posting a picture of this little one with the funniest expression on her face, I thought I would post a nice picture of her.  Here is a picture of her relaxing in her bubble bath.  I know this picture is not in focus, but it's one of the few you can even see baby's eyes.  Don't you just love her?

Day 187 - Enough already! (Photographing babies)

I was hanging out with a friend and her baby the other night, and as per my usual, I was taking pictures of them.  My friend welcomes it, since she doesn't really have any pictures with her little angel!  Every time I found a place that had either good lighting or a nice background we would stop to take pictures.  The thing with photographing children you just have no idea what they will do... They definitely keep you entertained!

This picture was the last one I took of the night.  I think little one had enough of the camera being in her face!

Day 155 - "...placed for you the stars...."

Really busy these days, so just added some text to the astrolabe...

Day 147 - Memories revisited

I've been a little busy over the last week or so, and then I wasn't feeling well, over the last couple days, so I've had to pull some pictures from the archives. I came across this one, from my brother's first convocation.  Good memories, of his graduation and of UofT.  Yes, I have a renewed appreciation of the things I have experienced, including my time at university.

Day 135 - Morning in Fes

From our morning in Fes... coffee, tea, and, water at the Ramada.  I was fasting, so none of this was mine.  While everyone went to get breakfast, this is how I occupied my time.  I took the picture in colour, but the colours were distracting.

Day 119 - ... in black and white...

I kept looking at the fountain from yesterday, and wondered how it would look in black and white.  Don't get me wrong, I love the coloured version, but I wondered if turning it into black and white would highlight the patterns and the carvings differently.  The only thing I don't really like is the shadow on the right.

Day 114 - The pretty glass ceiling

This photo was from Baltimore, MD. One of the libraries on the Johns Hopkins campus.  I shot it in colour, but felt I liked it so much better in black and white.

Day 90 - Trillium splashed with colour

This is an old photo from the summer of 2007 that I found on my new phone, go figure.  I wanted to try the colour splash on the app I downloaded. It took a while to edit the with precision I wanted, and still it's not perfect.  The effect is interesting, nonetheless.

If anyone is wondering, the app is "Photo Studio".  I'm a little disappointed with it, since the first time I tried to "colour splash" it did something funny when it saved.  I just have the free version of it, and I'm trying to convince myself to actually purchase the full app.  

Day 50 - Relaxing

This is from a few weeks ago.  I like the two sets of couples in the photo.  The one thing I wish I did was get the top of the tree on the left, and not have the lens flare on the picture.  I did crop this one, to take some of the grass out of the picture, so I most definitely could have had more of the tree in the shot.

Day 40 - Ceremony

I figure this is a safe image to post.  This is the ceremony... I think I really would have liked the image if it was straight on, and not take from the side.  Straight on, I would have had all the horizontal lines, but not the vertical ones, which is what I don't like.  I would have stood in the aisle to take pictures, but I felt a little self conscious moving around, since I didn't actually know the couple, or anyone at the wedding, except the person who invited me.  

I really do love the black and white.  I have a few pictures in colour at the church, but really don't like the way the colours looked in them.

Day 38 - Table 15 in the dark

At the reception, I had to fiddle with the camera a little to familiarize myself with the settings on the camera.  I realized that I really like photos in black and white, so a lot of the pictures I took at the wedding were in black and white.  I also loved having complete control over the shutter speed and the aperture size... I'm not used to it, so I think it might take me some time to learn the right settings to use in each situation.

Didn't bother editing this photo.. it's as I shot it.  I know it's a little dark.

Day 1 - Barrels in black and white

So, today begins my project of posting a new picture each day for the next year.  Was busy hanging out with a friend I hadn't seen in ages, so didn't get a chance to take any new photos today.  So, I went thru some of my old photos and found one that editing would make it better.

This is a picture I took at Black Creek Pioneer Village. I took the picture in black and white, but didn't like that it looked all washed out.  In editing I added more contrast and saturated it the colours a little more.  When I was doing this editing, I noticed the horizon was off, so I had to slightly rotate the photo when I was cropping. I have a feeling I will find the horizon is off in a lot of my pictures.  Something for me to keep in mind.

Black & White Barrels

From the Archives: A black and white portrait of cousin

I was putting a present together for my cousins, and came across this photo I took a couple years ago.  I took my camera with me to the park, and just took random shots of my cousins as they played.  This was my favourite from that day.